Three senators — Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) — announced separately Thursday they tested positive for COVID-19.
All three have been fully vaccinated.
Wicker’s office said in a statement that the congressman tested positive Thursday morning after experiencing “mild symptoms.” He is isolating and in “good health,” according to the office.
King’s office said he began feeling “under the weather” Wednesday, after which he took a COVID-19 test as a precaution. In a statement, King listed the measures he has taken throughout the pandemic to protect himself and those close to him, saying that despite those efforts, he still tested positive.
“While I am not feeling great, I’m definitely feeling much better than I would have without the vaccine,” King, who caucuses with Democrats, said in the statement. “I am taking this diagnosis very seriously, quarantining myself at home and telling the few people I’ve been in contact with to get tested in order to limit any further spread.”
Hickenlooper tweeted Thursday that he tested positive, and while he “feels good,” he is isolating.
“I’m grateful for the vaccine (& the scientists behind it!) for limiting my symptoms,” Hickenlooper tweeted.
Both King and Hickenlooper urged Americans to get vaccinated in their statements.
While COVID-19 breakthrough cases have been very rare among the large numbers of those vaccinated, they can still happen because no vaccines are 100% effective.
Health officials are quick to emphasize that breakthrough cases represent a small portion of all those vaccinated, and that COVID-19 vaccines remain key to ending the pandemic.
